Cannabis Scientist Answers Questions From Twitter

I am Amber Wise,

I am a cannabis scientist,

and I'm here today

to answer your questions from Twitter.

This is Cannabis Support.

[upbeat music]

From @Im_FeliciaHOE.

It's okay to smoke weed.

But everyday?

Some people use cannabis

to modulate neurodivergent behavior.

Some people use it medically

in order to get out of bed

and reduce their pain.

Some people use it for arthritis,

and these are daily applications.

And there are zero deaths

attributed to natural cannabis use.

Some would argue

that getting high every day

is potentially safer

than getting drunk every day.

From 50 Shades of Green.

Why does weed cause the munchies?

Cannabinoids and THC actually stimulate

the release of our hunger molecule

called ghrelin,

a hormone that makes us feel hungry.

Cannabinoids can also heighten

your sense of smell and taste,

so not only do you feel more hungry,

but those Doritos can also taste better.

Next up, @Rapid_RNR asks,

Did you know the human body

naturally produces cannabinoids?

The thing is,

our body does make cannabinoid molecules

but they're not the same ones

that the plant makes.

These molecules regulate

almost every aspect of our biochemistry:

mood, sleepiness and awakeness,

how hunger you are,

your metabolism rates,

your energy levels.

We call this now

the endo cannabinoid system.

The reason that we react

to the cannabinoids that the plant makes

are because those molecules

also bind to the same receptors

that our body has in our endocannabinoid system.

From @terrible_tony.

Is it me or is the weed out here

getting stronger?

Humans are now selectively breeding cannabis

and have been for a long time

to make more cannabinoids in the flower.

Flower from 30, 40 years ago

has fewer cannabinoids

than the flower that's being grown today.

You might be going into retail stores

and seeing, you know,

a couple years ago labels saying

25% total THC in flower,

and now we're seeing 35 or maybe 40%

or even more than 40%.

Those numbers are not real.

There is a physical limit

to the amount that the plant can make.

30% is generally agreed upon

as the maximum amount

that you can get a flower to produce,

and that is like the danky-est sticky-icky

we're talking about.

The next question is from @alms_xo.

Is weed a psychedelic?

There are three terms I'd like to define

a little more clearly here.

We have: psychoactive,

psychotropic,

and we have psychedelic.

Psychoactive is anything

that reacts with your brain chemistry,

and that can be caffeine,

and that can be any number of things.

Psychotropic is somehow affecting

your perception of reality,

your mood, your awareness,

and sometimes perception of time.

And psychedelic is generally agreed upon

to include hallucinations

and drastic changes

in how you're perceiving reality.

In terms of the generally agreed upon

definition of psychedelic,

generally cannabinoids are not,

THC and CBD can be considered psychoactive,

they both interact with our brains.

And generally,

THC is considered psychotropic.

It can change our mood

and how we perceive reality.

From @anth_alvarado.

Does CBD actually do anything?

First I wanna show

how similar CBD and THC are

in terms of molecular structure.

They actually weigh the same

and have the same number of

carbons and hydrogens and oxygens.

The big difference

is that the ring structure here

is closed on the THC

and the ring is open here on the CBD.

That's the only difference.

However, we have it on paper here

so they both look flat.

In three dimensions,

the shape is quite different,

and that leads to

different behaviors in your body.

Purified CBD all by itself

is often not very effective

for whatever you might be seeking treatment for.

However, when we have

a more full spectrum mixture

of different molecules from the plant,

it can be much more effective

for a variety of different ailments.

From @filth_filler.

Why do edibles hit different?

Well, it's because it's actually

a different molecule

that your body is getting high from.

So, so far we've really only been

talking about Delta-9 THC,

and that's what happens when you inhale.

It goes directly

into your bloodstream from your lungs,

so you feel that effect quite quickly.

However, with edibles,

you first have to go through your stomach,

your intestines, through your liver,

and your liver attaches a hydroxy group

and causes a different molecule to form,

called 11-Hydroxy-THC.

That's why edibles hit different,

meaning they take longer,

and they also feel different

because it's a different molecule

interacting with those receptors in your body.

From @Jada_tonyra.

What's the difference between

indoor and outdoor weed?

This is a very hot topic,

and everybody falls

on one side or the other.

There was a recent study done

where they grew clones

from the same plant,

so genetically the same starting material.

Some of them were grown outdoors

in natural living soil.

Some of it was grown indoors

with potting soil and artificial lights.

And looking at the molecular profile

that the plant made,

the outdoor cannabis

had wider variety of cannabinoids,

it had more minor cannabinoids

and rare cannabinoids.

And the indoor often has

slightly higher yield,

and often more consistent molecular profiles.

So it really depends on what you're looking for,

and you can get quality

out of both types of situations.

From @cinnachurros.

Why does weed smell like that?

Cannabis has a distinctive smell,

and different strains do smell differently.

But you can often say

that that smells like weed.

Well, the answer is terpenes.

Terpenes are one of

the most widely found molecules

in the plant kingdom.

All kinds of plants and herbs

and spices and pine trees

have terpenes in them.

THC and CBD actually are odorless,

and in fact,

the drug dogs that are used to detect cannabis

are trained on terpene molecules.

And that skunky smell in cannabis is actually due

to sulfur-containing compounds

that were just very recently discovered.

From @RobbinsGroupLLC.

What are cannabis trichomes

and why are they so important?

Cannabis trichomes are actually

only found on the female structure of the flower,

and the trichomes are where

all of the cannabinoids and terpenes

are synthesized in the plant.

If you zoom in,

you'll see these trichomes

are these tiny little mushroom-shaped structures,

and within that round part

at the end of that stock,

that's the location

that the plant actually makes the cannabinoids,

THC, CBD, and the terpenes.

All in that one little head.

From @fangers0_0.

Is there really a difference

between indica and sativa

or is it all in the head?

The old adage is that indica

will make you feel in da couch

or relaxed or sleepy,

and sativas might make you

more creative or more energetic.

Recent studies actually show

that there is no molecular correlation

between the two,

in terms of the kinds of terpenes

or cannabinoid molecules that the plant makes,

so it might actually just be all in your head.

From @NextBigCrop.

What effect does THC and CBD have

on your sleep and dreams?

So in terms of falling asleep

and staying asleep,

THC and CBD in combination

seem to work quite well.

Cannabis and THC and cannabinoids

can help with falling asleep.

In terms of dreams,

there is evidence to suggest

that THC reduces your REM cycles,

which is the part where you remember

your dreams occurring.

But long-term users of cannabis

who stopped using

do report very vivid dreams coming back

after they're stopping using cannabis.

So there is definitely some effect

on what we remember during use

and after we stop using,

but we don't fully understand

the mechanisms there.

From @optimalnt1.

Why does marijuana have THC?

And the plant

doesn't actually make these molecules

for our benefit,

the plant benefits from making these molecules

what we call secondary metabolites,

something that are not needed

for fundamental growth and function of plants,

but perform another function.

There is evidence to suggest

it protects against UV rays,

it protects potentially against pests,

and also things like antifungal

and antimicrobial properties.

@aaime99.

Why does weed make you high?

We used to think it was dopamine being released

but it's actually not true.

Science has shown

that it is this anandamide molecule

named for the Sanskrit word

joy or bliss.

This molecule is released in our brain

and makes us feel happy.

Sometimes it can make us feel

anxious or moody

or paranoid as well.

It's determined by your biochemistry

and many other factors

including what other molecules are present

potentially in that cannabis.

The next question is from @dannytkane.

Have we determined

if 'contact high' is a real thing?

Never in my life have I got a 'contact high'.

In terms of contact high,

we're gonna talk about,

you know,

inhaling secondhand smoke at a party, let's say.

One study that was done

with a bunch of folks

in a very unventilated room

where half the folks smoked joints constantly

and the other half is just sat there.

The people who did not smoke the joints

tested positive for THC

and said they felt a little high.

When they just ventilated the room,

the folks who did not smoke the joints

said they didn't feel much

and they also did not test positive for THC.

Whiffing the smell of cannabis

as you walk down the street,

you're totally fine.

But if your friends are hot boxing in the car,

you might run into some problems.

From @Kati3Whit3.

What's the difference between

Delta 8, 9 and 10?

To a chemist,

it's really just the position of a double bond.

This is Delta-9 THC,

and this is a double bond here

between the 9 and 10 carbon atoms here.

Delta-8 means this double bond

is just over here on the ring structure.

And Delta-10 means it's on a different position

on that same ring.

The big difference is that Delta-9 THC

is naturally produced by the plant,

and Delta-8 and Delta-10

are converted from either CBD molecules

or Delta-9.

The next question is from @ujanaraa.

Aye why does weed make you laugh?

Well, there is actually a mechanism

in that it makes more blood flow

to the prefrontal cortex of your brain,

which affects your moods.

It does increase

the endocannabinoid,

bliss molecules in our bodies,

the anandamide molecule that naturally exists.

So it's complicated,

but there is some chemistry behind it

making you laugh.

From @420WeedManJeff1.

Question, does anybody know

where cannabis originated from,

and about how long ago?

We used to say that cannabis came from

the Central Asian region,

usually around India,

and in fact, cannabis indica,

indica suggests coming from India.

But it turns out genetic profiling

recently in the last couple of years

shows that it comes from East Asia

and eastern parts of China.

How long ago?

Well, plants predate humans.

There is evidence to suggest

that there was fiber type hemp

and cannabis being grown about 12,000 BC.

Psychotropic and spiritual use of cannabis

around 7,500 years ago,

and there have been documented evidence

of its medical and ritualistic use

for thousands of years

in various parts of the world.

Commercially available cannabis

is so highly bred

that it would be difficult

to kind of trace that back

or even be very recognizable

to sort of the origins of the cannabis plant.

The next question is from @martini_no_t.

Why does weed

still need to give you dry mouth?

Do we have people working on this?

We need people working on this.

There are neurotransmitters in our brains

that cannabinoids interact with

that cause our saliva glands

to stop working as well as they should.

And it's not just smoking.

You can get cotton mouth

from edibles and tinctures as well.

In terms of

we should have somebody working on this,

this is one of the things that gets me excited

about the cannabis world of science,

is that there's so many unanswered questions

and potential areas for new research.

So somebody should get on that.

@PontiacMadeDDG.

Is weed addictive?

Addiction is generally defined

as a use disorder now,

and involves some sort of

physical withdrawal symptoms

when use is stopped.

There's an estimated

between 10 and 30% of cannabis users

end up with some sort of use disorder,

and certainly people seek treatment

for cannabis use disorder,

but it's generally much lower

than for other drugs of abuse

compared to the number of people

that use cannabis.

Cannabis is being shown to be a way

to get off of other types of drugs like opiates.

It's not an easy yes or no answer,

but generally much safer

than other types of recreational drugs out there.

From @Ashley_Logic.

How exactly does marijuana help cancer,

multiple sclerosis,

and glaucoma?

Specifically for cancer,

many people think that cannabis products

can reduce tumor growth,

and the clinical studies on that

are quite mixed, actually.

Cannabis has been shown

to help with the treatment of cancer

and a lot of the side effects

that come from chemotherapy and radiation,

making you feel hungry

which is important to keep your nutrition up,

and helping you sleep and relax,

which is good for healing,

and the nausea that you can sometimes get

with chemotherapy.

The glaucoma aspect

seems to be more short-term

and not really a cure.

Cannabis and THC

does reduce the interocular pressure.

Certainly there are many MS patients

that are being helped with specific formulations,

you know, under a doctor's care.

From @mikeinmaehia.

So why is cannabis still classified

as a schedule 1 drug out of 5 schedules,

1 being the most dangerous?

Who is obstructing rescheduling?

This is pretty much just a hangover

from the prohibition era.

Schedule 1 means there is no

accepted medical benefit,

which we know is not true anymore.

The DEA is the one that controls the scheduling,

and the FDA has purview over

all the food and drugs in the United States.

Currently they're sort of

pointing fingers at each other

and saying it's, you know,

one or the other's fault.

But it is important to remember

that rescheduling down to a different number

on the scheduling scale

is different than descheduling,

which is removing it altogether

from the scheduling scale.

In my opinion,

it would be better to deschedule altogether.

If you have it on the numbered schedule scale,

that pretty much limits it to pharmaceutical

and prescription applications only.

And there are also legal and social justice issues

that are wrapped up

in the scheduling system

versus removing it from that list altogether.

From @fat1bear.

Why does weed turn purple?

These purple molecules

are due to molecules

called anthocyanins.

A lot of plants produce anthocyanins

when they are in cold environments.

Anthocyanins are also known

to be UV protectors.

So when there's too much sun,

these anthocyanin molecules

can absorb some of that extra UV energy.

So often we see more purple plants

when it's colder and more sunny,

and they can revert to being more green

when it warms up again.

But some of it is also due to genetics.

From @riverrockco.

What's the difference between resin,

live resin, and rosin?

Some people consider resin

to be a specific kind of extract

of the cannabis plant,

but resin can be used as a general term

for all kinds of sticky oils or extracts

that come from the plant itself.

Live resin is generally agreed upon

to be extracted from

fresh frozen plant material.

The cannabis plant

is grown and harvested like normal,

but it doesn't get dried,

it gets flash frozen.

And all of that water content

and original terpene profile is maintained.

And then rosin

is actually just pressed oil

from the plant itself.

So there's no solvents,

no extraction being done,

but heat and pressure being applied

to the dried flower buds

and the cannabinoids and terpenes

and other kind of oily plant molecules

oozing out as like a thick, oily substance.

All right, that's all the questions.

Hope you learned something,

and until next time.